"Yangg Yan? He's here? Quick, take me to him!" Hearing the name the steward mentioned, Nie Tian's eyes lit up.
Yangg Yan was a disciple of the Yangg Family's inner branch, one of the Four Great Families. Due to a certain incident, he had lost faith in his family and voluntarily requested a transfer to an external position. He was around the same age as Feng Xiao, with a cultivation at the Qi Sea Fourth Layer True Qi Realm Mid Stage, and was on good terms with Nie Tian.
'In my past life, Yangg Yan was arguably my only friend during my youth. When the Four Great Families were in turmoil, he turned against his own family for my sake and had both of his arms cut off. Later, when the Demon Race laid siege, I managed to escape with Nie Tong's help, but I never heard any news of him after that.'
'After I achieved a high level of cultivation, I made a point of searching for him, only to learn that he had already died in the war against the Demon Race!'
'It was a regret I could never get over.'
'In my past life, he lost his arms for me. I thought I could never repay that debt, but I never expected to return to three hundred years in the past!'
A few steps brought him to the living room, where Nie Tian saw a young man seated as a guest, drinking tea. The man had corded muscles and radiated an aura of formidable strength. The moment he saw Nie Tian, he broke into a grin. "You're awake! I just heard about what happened with you and Nie Chao. Don't worry, I'll get revenge for you. I'll beat that bastard so badly he won't be able to take care of himself!"
"There's no need!" Seeing the familiar figure before him gradually merge with a memory from three hundred years ago, Nie Tian shook his head.
'A cultivator's arms are their most important asset. Remembering how he had been willing to turn on his family and even lose both arms for my sake, I couldn't help but feel my eyes redden.'
'This reaction wasn't because the mighty Blood Prison Demon Venerable had suddenly become sentimental. It was because the me of my past life wasn't born cold and ruthless. My personality only changed so drastically after everyone I cared about had died!'
"No need? You don't have to worry about me. No matter what, I'm still a disciple of the Yangg Family's inner branch. In terms of status, I'm way above that Nie Chao. Even if I beat him until he can't take care of himself, your Nie Family can't say a thing to me!"
Yangg Yan thought Nie Tian was worried that injuring Nie Chao would cause trouble, so he waved his hand magnanimously, not concerned in the slightest.
He was telling the truth that the Nie Family wouldn't say anything if he injured Nie Chao. After all, Yangg Yan was the son of the current Yangg Clan Leader and the half-brother of the family's primary heir.
The conflict between Yangg Yan and the Yangg Family was a cliché: a power struggle between the legitimate and illegitimate sons that caused strife within the house. After his birth mother died of illness, his father not only refused to arrange her burial but also forbade her memorial tablet from being placed in the ancestral hall, all because she had been a mere concubine.
In a fit of rage, Yangg Yan left the Yangg Family. He suffered a cultivation deviation and nearly died, only to be saved by a chance encounter with Nie Tian, who happened to be passing by. That was how the two became friends.
"Young Master Yangg Yan, there's truly no need for you to act, because the Young Master has already beaten Nie Chao to the point he can't take care of himself!" Hearing Yangg Yan's words, the steward Nie Chong, who was standing to the side, chuckled.
"Beaten senseless by the young master? You did that?" Yangg Yan obviously hadn't expected this. He froze for a moment, his eyes going wide as he stared at Nie Tian.
"Hehe, it was just a fluke!" Nie Tian didn't want to dwell on the matter. He looked at the young man before him, chuckled, and said, "You didn't come all this way today just to get revenge for me, did you?"
The two were close, so they spoke freely and casually.
"Oh, right! That reminds me. I heard the Luoshui Auction House is auctioning a high-grade, Marquis-rank battle axe today. I came to get you so we could go check it out together!"
Yangg Yan slapped his forehead and grinned sheepishly.
Just like the classifications for Cultivation Techniques and Bloodlines, weapons were also divided into five ranks: Emperor, King, Marquis, Noble, and Mortal. Different ranks possessed different levels of power.
"A battle axe?" Hearing his words, Nie Tian suddenly remembered something.
'In my past life, Yangg Yan really did invite me to the auction house after I woke up. The problem was, we were both dirt poor. Forget the battle axe; we went, had a look, and came back with nothing but envy to show for it!'
'That battle axe was called the Fiery Flame Axe. It was a high-grade, Marquis-rank weapon and was bought by Yangg Yan's older brother in my past life—the primary heir of the Yangg Family, Yangg Jun.'
'Later, it was with this very axe that Yangg Jun had cut off Yangg Yan's arms!'
'Yangg Yan had always respected his half-brother and simply couldn't believe he would cut off his arms! Because of that incident, he lost all will and eventually died at the hands of the Demon Race!'
"Go see the battle axe? Do you have money to buy it?" Nie Tian knew that the naturally brawny Yangg Yan had a fondness for power-type weapons, and he asked with a teasing smile.
"Money... COUGH, COUGH. We can still look even if we don't have any!" Yangg Yan said, flustered.
"Alright then! Let's go have a look!" Seeing his expression, Nie Tian chuckled.
'In my past life, I didn't have the money to buy it, and in the end, that axe fell into Yangg Jun's hands, becoming the accomplice in severing Yangg Yan's arms. This time, I will absolutely not allow that to happen!'
'Although I'm still flat broke right now, with the knowledge from two lifetimes and my memories of the future, getting some money won't be a problem at all!'
'Besides, I need to buy Medicinal Materials to concoct my solutions anyway. I can just get them all at the auction house.'
"Okay, let's get going!"
Hearing the young man agree, Yangg Yan quickly nodded and turned to walk out, as if afraid he would change his mind.
"Leaving now? Not so fast! If we're going, we're going to buy that battle axe. We'll head out in a bit. But you have to follow my lead. Do exactly what I tell you to do, and only speak when I tell you to. Otherwise, there's no point in going, so we might as well stay here," Nie Tian laid down the ground rules.
"Buy it? You're saying we can actually buy it? Okay! As long as you can get that battle axe, I'll do anything you ask! Just follow your orders? Simple enough!" Hearing Nie Tian say they would buy the axe, Yangg Yan leaped up in excitement, pounding his chest and promising boisterously.
"Good. Uncle Nie Chong, please find me some flour and mud..."
Nie Tian had been waiting for those exact words. He chuckled and turned his head to give the order.
"Yes!" Although Nie Chong was puzzled about what the Young Master wanted with flour and mud, he still acknowledged the order and left. A short while later, he returned with both items.
After the time it takes for two incense sticks to burn, two figures slipped out from a corner of the Nie Tian Branch's courtyard. The man in the lead was tall and slender, with graying hair and a long, dark beard. Dressed in a grayish-blue robe, he had the otherworldly air of an enlightened master. Following him was a burly, brutish man with a face full of bristling whiskers, whose expression was utterly ferocious.
One looked like an ethereal master, the other a vicious fiend. The two didn't match at all, yet they walked together, creating an indescribably bizarre sight.
These two were, of course, the disguised Nie Tian and Yangg Yan.
Nie Tian's Disguise Technique was second to none. He could Disguise himself as a familiar bartender without anyone realizing it, let alone create the appearance of two complete strangers.
Even so, Nie Chong and Yangg Yan were still stunned when they saw the Disguises. The way they looked at Nie Tian now held a strange light, as they couldn't fathom when the young man had mastered such a powerful Disguise Technique.
Nie Tian didn't explain. Sometimes, explaining things only made them more complicated. It was better to say nothing and let them wonder. Besides, Nie Chong was the old, tight-lipped steward of the branch family, and Yangg Yan, being part of the scheme, was even less likely to talk. He didn't have to worry about word of his Disguise skill getting out.
"Nie... Master, where are we going now?" Yangg Yan called out from behind.
Nie Tian had instructed him that after leaving the courtyard, he was to call him Master. Although Yangg Yan wasn't too happy about it, he endured it for the sake of buying the battle axe!
'As for why an ethereal-looking master would take on such a bandit-like apprentice, I couldn't help it! Yangg Yan was so big and brawny; trying to disguise him as a Child would have been utterly ridiculous...'
"To make money, of course, hehe!" Nie Tian chuckled slyly, an unbelievably sleazy expression appearing on his face.